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IMAGE COMICS (current)
July 2003 - Image Comics announce that Diamond comic distributors have sold out of "G.I. Joe vs. Transformers"
#1 by Josh Blaylock, Mike S. Miller and Armando Durruthy.
"G.I. Joe vs. Transformers" #1 is one of a handful of G.I. Joe comics to sell out in recent weeks,
including all recent issues of "G.I. Joe: Frontline."
A limited edition second printing of "G.I. Joe vs. Transformers"
#1 has already been scheduled and will ship in mid-July.
"There's been a huge surge in reorder activity on all G.I.
Joe titles over the last month or so," said Image Director of Marketing Eric Stephenson. "We're sold out of every issue of
G.I. Joe: Frontline -- with the exception of a small quantity of issue #2 -- and we're nearing a similar situation with the
main G.I. Joe title. The rapid sell out of G.I. Joe vs. Transformers is really just the capper of an amazing month's worth
of sales."
In addition to the brisk sales of recent issues of G.I. Joe, Stephenson also pointed out that the second
G.I. Joe trade paperback was completely sold out, further underscoring the strong demand for a title that is frequently dismissed
as part of the retro-80s craze.
"I really think a lot of retailers have underestimated the loyal following that supports
G.I. Joe," Stephenson continued. "I see it month in and month out in the numbers: Retailers order fewer copies of each issue
and then we watch the reorders pile up after the books actually ship. There's obviously a demand for these comics, but retailers'
initial orders are consistently out of sync with that."
Josh Blaylock credited much of the increased excitement for
the title to new G.I. Joe artist Brandon Badeaux, as well as the upcoming roster of talent contributing the G.I. Joe #19 and
G.I. Joe: Frontline. "The run on the recent issues of G.I. Joe #19 since Brandon's arrival on the book is the clearest indication
possible of fans' enthusiasm for the new art and the new direction G.I. Joe's stories are taking."
With that in mind,
both Blaylock and Stephenson urged retailers to double-check their orders and place advance reorders for the weekly G.I. Joe:
Frontline issues shipping in August (#11-14), as well as the all-new SILENT issue of G.I. Joe (#21) by Mike Zeck, which Stephenson
predicted would be an "instant sell out."
Written by newcomer Brandon Jerwa with art by Eddy Barrow and Cory Hamscher,
with covers by Witchblade's Francis Manapul, G.I. Joe: Frontline #11-14 is a four-part story arc entitled "History Repeating"
that revolves around G.I. Joe undercover agent Chuckles. G.I. Joe #21 marks veteran artist Mike Zecks long-awaited return
to sequential illustration and his first ever full-length G.I. Joe story on an all-new silent issue featuring the most popular
G.I. Joe #19 characters, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow.
"When G.I. Joe first launched two years ago, there were people
who predicted the book would run out of steam pretty fast," Stephenson said. "The truth, though, is that G.I. Joe just gets
better with each passing issue. Josh and his crew have so many great things planned for the book and anyone with even a passing
interest in these characters would just be plain foolish to ignore these books right now."
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